I have a young green rising 5yo standardbred. I used to ride at schools and trot no problems. I had a fall and lost all my confidence. Now I have my own horse and Im trying to learn to trot again. I will start to trot him and he will run to my mum or whoever im with, or will toss his head or mix up his feet and do a silly little canter/trot. I just wanted to know if there is any easy ways to learn to trot, on a bit difficult horse? He doesnt lunge well so I cant ride on it, we tried and he cuts in and trots sideways. His also very lazy and drags his feet, so when I ask for a trot he leaps into it because he is using the wrong lead. I just didnt know if there is any ways/tips that could help me??

Is it possible for you to find a different, quiet, patient horse to ride for a while? It's just going to be difficult for you to regain confidence on a horse who is going to take advantage of you.

Your horse may not necessarily be "bad", but some do worse than others when their rider is unconfident. The best thing for you right now is to ride an old packer horse who isn't shaken by much and who is going to take care of you.

Did he race or was he trained for racing? Most Standardbreds are and it can make retraining a bit difficult if you don't take into consideration what they have already been taught. The Standardbred is primarily bred as a racing trotting or pacing horse. Does your horse pace or trot? Their strides are often long and fast and they can tend to have a few problems with bending and can lean on the bit.

The mixed canter/trot is quite common to Standardbreds.

If he hasn't had re-training of the track then I would look at perhaps sending him away to get someone to do that. Its not always particularly difficult to do but if you don't have confidence that just isn't going to work out.

Is he your first horse? When I got my first horse I rode it for the first or second time in the arena and we pretty much ran into the fence. Why, because having spent my life on school horses I didn't realise that you actually had to control your own horse, he wouldn't just do what all the others did. If he's running everywhere you have lost control of him.

I think you would really benefit from an instructor who can come out and give you some help, and you might find that your Standardbred, being young and green, is not really that suitable for you at the moment.

he was a pacer, but he trots and never breaks to a pace unless he mixes up his feet in a canter. I dont have the money to get him retrained. His a sweetie and runs to my family. I just want tips of learning to trot.

Standardbreds are often very sweet natured horses, but like all horses you need to be the leader. You need to tell him where to go and when.

You're in a bit of a bad position, because you won't really be able to learn to trot properly until the horse can trot calmly and properly, but he won't be able to learn to trot like that until you, or someone else, teach him. People don't ride unsuitable trots like a normal trot, if my horse were to take off at a crazy trot I wouldn't rise along merrily, I'd sit back and slow him down, and only when the trot was correct would I start really riding the trot.

Horses are expensive, and if your horse is young, and you are inexperienced, a trainer or instructor is often almost as important a cost as feed, or agistment. Really consider the suitability of you and this horse.

Also, remove the problems. If your horse runs to your family tell your family to go away. Work on control, get it perfect. Get him weaving around things, doing tight circles, stopping immediately, serpentines etc at a walk. Never let him choose his own way or direction. Then do two or three strides of trot and then walk and slowly work up to more. Work on a 20 or 30 metre circle, get him used to be bending around the leg. Standardbreds are very "straight" horses, but you're going to have more control when you teach him to bend around your leg and keep on a circle. Until you have a really good trot where you can weave and bend, go fast and slow, do serpentines etc, don't even consider cantering.

TROT POLES using trot poles in your flat work either by lunging or riding will break the desire to pace and will make them pick up thier feet in a trot to avoid hitting the poles. Have 4 or 5 poles on one side then a break and another 4 or 5 poles on the opposite side and keep your horse moving through the poles he will soon learn to pick his feet up in a trot. After he has begun to trot regularly even in little doses move the poles together to keep him in the trot for longer..
Remember to reward him in his tries no matter how small they are as you have to get your horse to believe that it is ok to trot.
Also if you can ride him in sand (beach or other) this will also see them trot as they have to lift thier legs from the depth.
I have retrained many Standies using this method with alot of success. Good Luck!! you and your boy will get there.

My horse suits me great and has an amazing trot. I can control him and he circles great and knows the one rein stop.. If he doesnt do something i make him do it. I just wanted tips on how to learn to rise and fall..

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